SCHENECTADY, NY – In a physical contest, the Union College men's basketball team came out on top to defeat the visiting Bard Raptors, 80-68, Tuesday night at the Viniar Athletic Center.
 
With the win Union sits firmly in second place in the Liberty League with a conference record of 9-5. The Dutchmen have four conference games remaining, and a second-place finish would secure a first-round bye in the Liberty League playoffs.
 
The contest started off innocently enough, as the team fouls were 10 for Bard and eight for Union at the half. However, things got more physical in the second half as Bard was assessed 14 fouls to Union's nine.
 
Union's tactic of driving to the lane hard paid off, as 20 of Union's points came from the charity stripe. The Dutchmen only missed three of its 23 free throw attempts in the contest, as Union continues to lead the Liberty League in free throws made.
 
Bard took advantage of cold shooting by Union to start the contest, holding as much as a five-point lead over the Dutchmen midway through the first half. Fortunately, Union found its stride and ended up leading the Raptors, 36-30, at halftime.
 
In the second half as things got a bit rough, the Dutchmen continued to pace the Raptors and led by as much as 14 in the first six minutes of the second half. Union never conceded its lead to Bard and finished off the half outscoring the Raptors, 44-38, for its ninth league win of the season.
 
Three Dutchmen were in double figures, led once again by Kevin Weckworth, who hit 30 points on the night. The senior led the team in scoring for the 13th time this season, shooting 13-for-22 from the floor. Greg King and Brendan Laing were the two other Dutchmen to record double digits, as King had 16 points and Laing had 12.
 
Union plays in its final home games of the regular season this weekend, hosting St. Lawrence on Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. (ET), followed by Clarkson on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 4 p.m.